


Past and Present

by FiveAM



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16143338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiveAM/pseuds/FiveAM
Summary: Nightwing and Batgirl think about the past during a night patrol, specifically Barbara recovering from paralysis.Now updated





	Past and Present

**Author's Note:**

> I've been watching a lot of Young Justice as of late and almost instantly fell in love with these two. I've always preferred Dick being with Barbara over any other girl and, after reading Young Justice 25, it seems like they are building their relationship up. With the new season coming up, I don't know how far ahead the time skip will be, so for now, I'm going with three years after season 2 ended. I hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Edit: I decided to flesh this story out a bit more by giving it a bit more backstory. Every time I came back to read this story, it always felt rushed, so I decided to update it with more meat to it. Hopefully, this improves it for the better.

Gotham City experienced what one would expect from a city in the Northeastern United States during the winter. Tonight was a cold, December evening. It had finished snowing the night previous, with the rooftops of the city covered with a beautiful sheet of snow. 

Of course, this being Gotham, there’s no such thing as a rooftop that hasn’t been stepped on during patrol, and tonight was no exception, except instead of Batman, it was Nightwing and Batgirl. It was a rare night where Nightwing didn’t have any team obligations, and Batgirl’s squad had an almost pitifully easy assignment to deal with, so both were more than happy to handle patrol duties for the night. Batman was busy with a meeting with the Justice League, and Robin was leading a squad on the team investigating a black market for alien tech. He was going to join them once the mission was finished.

On a night like tonight, the main targets were street harassers, mostly due to the fact that, no matter how psychotic a villain was, no one was willing to risk running over a sheet of ice on the road and crashing a car. Besides, Arkham actually had heat, so why spoil such a luxury on another crime job that will inevitably go wrong? It would practically just be a waste of time that could have been spent in the ironic comfort of prison.

It had been about 40 minutes into each of their patrols before they ran into each other.

“Did you not have team duties today, too?” said Nightwing

“No, I just had a quick mission. “Took us less than an hour to complete.” said Batgirl, almost irritated at how simple the mission was.

“Man, do I wish I had missions like those anymore.”

“Cherish them when you do. Come on. Let’s catch some muggers.”

Both immediately took off to swinging around the city and running across rooftops. As is tradition between the two of them when Batman isn’t around, they played a game of one-up as they ran across the city, trying to outdo each other with flips and gadget tricks. Seeing as the two of them are very competitive, especially against each other, both are always quick to call themselves the winner.

Who actually won? Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, it wasn’t long before the two of them happened upon a few scenes of street harassment and muggings. Neither of them had to put much effort into their fights, and the results were easy victories for the good guys.

It couldn’t have taken more than an hour before the entirety of Gotham was searched. At one point, the two decided to split up, with Batgirl being the unlucky one in having to deal with a few more issues than Nightwing. She eventually found him sitting on the rooftop of a small(ish) building on the southside of town, looking at the skyline of the city, which was awash with a golden hue from the lights. As pretty as it was, Barbara was still shocked that Dick would be so laid back, especially in costume.

“Are you seriously taking it easy right now?”

“Is there a problem in doing so?”

“No. It’s just not like you.”

“Consider it a change of pace then. Care to join me?” he asked, patting his hand on some snow next to him.

As strange as this was, Barbara joined him regardless. There really wasn’t much excitement tonight, and considering how beautiful the city looked, she might as well take this time to enjoy some relaxation with her best friend. Neither of them had to worry about getting cold, either, considering both of their suits had thermal insulation, as well as a heating mechanism.

After a few seconds though, Dick asked “How are your legs holding up?”

“Well. Their not one hundred percent; I did feel some pain when I was taking down one of the last thugs I fought, but other than that, they feel good.”

“Thank goodness” Dick said, genuinely relieved. Barbara had just recently gotten her ability to use her legs again, thanks to some nanotechnology Bruce had been working on after her fateful run-in with the joker that left her paralyzed. She was out of action for close to a year while the technology was being perfected, as well as the eventual rehab that took place.

Dick remembers the night all too well. He was leading alpha squad on a not-so-difficult mission of gaining intel on a nationwide drug ring. He only found out about what happened when he made it back to the tower; Batman radio'd him privately. He said that the Joker hurt Barbara, bad. He didn't go into details, but he gave enough of a clue that Dick needed to get to her. He rushed out of the watchtower without telling anyone why, his mind focused solely on Barbara. Batman told him that she was in her apartment, and Dick got there as fast as he could while Batman saved the Commissioner and stopped the Joker. 

He walked in on a scene of horror. He walked in to see her completely naked on the ground, blood everywhere and a bullet hole in her stomach. Batman had managed to stem the bleeding before he left, and the bullet likely wasn't fatal if he had Dick retrieve her, but this sight of her, the woman he always loved, lying on the ground drifting in and out of consciousness, it was mentally scarring. No matter, though. He had to get her to a hospital. She still had the chance to live. He could grieve later. Right then, he needed to save her life.

The doctors gave a diagnosis that nobody had wanted to hear: she was paralyzed from the waste down. Her legs were useless, and without the nanotech that Bruce had developed for her, she would have likely never walked again. Still, in that moment, his world fell apart. He didn't want this for her, not this life, not when she obviously loved being Batgirl. He hated the thought of her having to be in a wheelchair, to want nothing more than to simply walk. This was no life for a superhero, but she was going to have no choice.

She settled in well as Oracle, all things considered. She was an expert behind the computer, becoming both Batman and Nightwing's eyes, ears, and brain, helping to make their missions just a little bit easier. Still, he knew that she wanted to walk again someday, and after another fight with the Joker, Dick finally snapped at Bruce. He wanted to know how he could let the Joker do what he did, and even wondered why Bruce would let him even live considering what he did. This was especially troubling for Dick considering that, not only did the Joker kill Jason, he now crippled Barbara, too. No villain had done deeds so personally damaging as the Joker, and now Dick was genuinely furious at Bruce for letting him live.

He should've expected the answer that came from Bruce. "Do you really think that killing him will make everything better? His death won't reverse what he did, to anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Killing out of revenge makes you no better than the person you killed."

"But this is the Joker we're talking about."

"I know that, and I've even thought of killing him before as well. He deserves to suffer every single torture he's ever committed on others, but killing him wouldn't make us better, it won't bring back Jason, and it won't help Barbara. All we can do now is help her into her role as Oracle."

He was right. No matter how angry Dick got, he couldn't fix Barbara with that. He knew he was acting out of anger because of how much he cared for Barbara, but he couldn't help her by killing the Joker. Killing him wouldn't undo the wrongs he committed. Instead, he carried on as well as he could. Bruce knew why he was angry, and told him that he was working on a way to fix her. Dick couldn't have felt a bigger wave of emotion than when Bruce revealed that his cure was ready to be used. With Barbara's blessing (there was no way she was going to say no to getting cured), he brought her to the Batcave for the procedure to be carried out.

The one memory that Dick held onto more fondly than others was when he was in the Batcave to see Barbara successfully stand up after the procedure had been completed (Bruce knew a doctor who owed him a favor). Seeing her stand up, albeit shakily and very unsteady, made Dick the happiest he had ever been. To hold her when she needed assistance after not being able to use her legs for so long, to have her hug him tightly, to hear her say “I can feel my legs again”, and to hear her cries of joy in between his own. That is a memory neither of them will ever forget.

Rehab consisted of Barbara having to learn how to walk and fight again. It only took a few months for her to be able to fight like she used to (aided by the fact that, when you train with Batman, it’s hard to forget what he teaches). Her father was there to help with walking, and Bruce with combat. Dick was able to be there always, whenever she needed him.

Her legs were giving a few issues now since her rehab for combat wasn’t fully finished yet, and all of her missions with the team have been more on the investigative and stealth side of things. Tonight was the first time she could genuinely see how they would hold up in combat. The results were beautiful.

It began to lightly snow. Leaning her head on his shoulder, Barbara told him “Hey, I know I’ve said this so many times this past year, but thank you for helping me through this.”

“No problem. I’m just happy to see you like you were before. You rarely seemed to smile when you were still in that wheelchair.”

“Considering the circumstances, I didn’t think there was much to smile about. Looking back, I wish I did.”

“At the very least, you lived. That should’ve been a good reason.”

“Wasn’t exactly my most pleasant life.”

“You still lived.” Putting his hand on hers, he said “You have no idea how relieved I was when I found out you were going to, and even then, seeing you in that wheelchair, depressed and afraid of the idea of never being able to simply walk ever again, it probably affected me just as much as it did you.”

“Dick…?”

“I’ve already lost my family and my best friend. Last thing I wanted was to lose you, too.”

This was a side of Dick that Barbara was not used to. He was never afraid of opening up (his one-on-one with Black Canary after the simulation incident proved that), but he rarely let it out. As Robin, he was cheerful. When he led the Team, he was serious. Confession was not a word that many would probably think of when they thought of Nightwing. This was Dick without any pretense or filter, the Dick that Barbara had waited so long to see.

“You don’t have to worry about that now. I’m here, alive and recovered, and ready to fight alongside you again.”

“It’s still painful to think about, though. You in that hospital bed.”

“What was it that we just talked about? Being alive should be a reason to smile? I wish what happened didn’t happen either, but it did, and I’ve recovered, and I’m not afraid of what’s to come, and neither should you.”

At that, Nightwing developed a soft smile on his face. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. If I saw you like that, I would’ve been just as crushed, and I’d be just as worried about you too.” She tightened her grip slightly on his hand, her way of saying how much she cares about him.

They’ve been best friends for so many years, and Barbara even said to him that once he cleaned up his act with women, they would finally be together. Thinking back, she never even once heard of him having any relations with any woman. She remembered hearing talks about him getting hit on, but he always turned them down. Every time she thought about being Oracle and her eventual rehab, Dick always seemed to be there with her, ready to drop anything he was doing to be with her and help her.

The more she thought about him now, the more she realized she truly loved him. The man who would drop everything to be with her, and make her life as enjoyable and bearable as possible, especially during the worst of times. She wanted him to be hers, and she wanted to be his. 

Regardless of whether or not this was the time and place to do it, she had to tell him, before another girl could come and take him, even if it would only be for a night or so.

“Dick, you’re ready.”

Not exactly picking up on the statement, he asked “For what?”

“Me.”

At that, he remembered what she told him on his (late) nineteenth birthday. He had been waiting to hear this for awhile, and now he knows, it’s going to be a reality. He’s finally going to be with the woman he loves.

"You mean it?"

"Without question. I don't care about how many women you've been with. I love you, and I want to be with you."

They both leaned in for a kiss, a soft, chaste kiss. Easily the best one either of them ever had. So many years of being friends, of Barbara’s lingering feelings for him, and despite being with multiple women, Dick’s feelings for her. They finally were together, and both of them couldn’t be happier with the person they happened to fall for.

After the kiss, Barbara once again cuddled up to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, both of them content to just sit there on the rooftop, hands together, watching the city and letting the snow fall, until Robin arrived or some more thugs needed to be dealt with.

**Author's Note:**

> If I'm being honest, I never cared for Barbara being Oracle. I've always preferred her being the kickass fighter who compliments the Batman family. Also, even for a medium that relies on suspension of disbelief, and with the original author of The Killing Joke saying he wished he didn't cripple her, for a world wear high-tech gadgets are the norm for heroes, I refuse to believe that Batgirl would stay in a wheelchair basically until she dies. It's been established multiple times that Bruce Wayne has knowledge of nanobots, so why wouldn't he work his butt off trying to cure her with said technology?
> 
> OK, now that I'm off my soapbox, thank you all so much for reading this. It's a nice little drabble that helped me take my mind off of the stress of college. Thank you all again, and have a blessed day!


End file.
